


Something Special

by actually_star



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Birthday, F/M, Pidgeance, Team Bonding, Team as Family, pidgance, pidge x lance, pidge's birthday, pigeon - Freeform, plance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 09:33:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19827370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actually_star/pseuds/actually_star
Summary: Lance feels like the worst best friend ever. First, he just finds out that Pidge is actually a girl, then he finds out her real age is actually 14, and not 16. To make things worse, he's only now figuring out that her 15th birthday is coming soon. Like, really soon. Tomorrow in fact.Determined to pick up his slack, Lance makes it his goal to find Pidge the perfect birthday gift. The only problem? He has no idea what to get her. This is going to be a disaster.





	Something Special

**Author's Note:**

> *Could be set during season 2 after the events of "Missing Home"*

The smell of something baking is what made Lance halt his tracks on the way back to the bridge. He was just passing the kitchen when he inhaled the sweet aroma of something akin to peanut butter, and his mouth suddenly began to water. Hunk, Lance and Coran had gone to another space market to restock on the food supply, and Hunk had found some sort of purple nut that had a similar flavor to peanuts.

Naturally, Lance was glad to taste test any food that Hunk made, so he stuck his head around the corner of the door, and the moment his eyes landed on a plate of purple cookies, they lit up. “Whoa, Hunk!” He cried. “Those look amazing!”

“Thanks, Lance,” Hunk puffed out his chest as Lance approached, showing off his ‘Don’t do anything to the Space Cook’ shirt. Lance made to grab one of them, but Hunk slapped his hand away with his makeshift oven mitt. “Hey, those aren’t for you! I’m not sure I have enough of those nuts to make a big enough batch.”

“Wha-? But, Hunk-!”

“No, Lance!”

Lance pouted. He then grinned slyly and leaned up against his friend. “Heyyyy, Hunk, my best friend in the universe-”

“Lance, your flirting doesn’t work on girls, what makes you think it’s gonna work on me?” Hunk deadpanned.

“Because you’re my… best friend ever!”

“A true best friend would listen to me and leave the cookies alone.”

Lance groaned, and sat on a chair by the counter defeatedly. While mourning the loss of his chances of getting a single cookie, he frowned as a thought surfaced in his mind. “Sooo, if I can’t have one, then what are the cookies for?”

“They’re for Pidge,” Hunk said.

“Oh. Isn’t that favoritism?”

“It’s not if it’s a present.”

“You’re giving Pidge a present? What for?” Lance asked, raising a brow. Hunk looked at him with a face of complete and utter shock and disappointment.

“Y-you’re kidding right?” Hunk stammered. “It’s her fifteenth birthday tomorrow!”

Lance nearly fell out of the chair, blue eyes popping out of his skull. “Wait, what?!” He exclaimed. “How is she 14 years old? I thought the age restriction to get into the Garrison was 16!”

“Lance, you do realize Pidge faked her ID?” Hunk pointed out, waving a mixing spoon in his direction. “She probably faked her age too.”

Lance groaned. “First I find out Pidge is a girl, and then I find out she’s actually 14 years old-”

“Nearly 15.”

“Whatever- nearly 15, and I’m only finding out now that her birthday is tomorrow?! Hunk, how could you let this happen?”

Hunk arched a brow. “I assumed you already knew, and besides, it never really came up in conversation.”

“You could’ve told me last week!”

“Yeah, well, last week we were doing Voltron stuff.”

“We’re _always_ doing Voltron stuff!” Lance smacked his palm on his forehead. “Great, now I got to find Pidge a present before tomorrow- a girl I barely know anything about. This is fantastic. Thanks a lot, man.”

“No problem, Lance.”

-:-:-:-:-

The first person he went to for help on finding Pidge a present was Shiro. He knew Pidge even before she enrolled in the Garrison, and probably knew her the best. After getting help from Coran in finding the Black Paladin, Lance arrived at the bridge, where Shiro was conversing with Allura about training and missions.

“Shiro, I need to ask you something.” Lance piped up when the conversation seemed to be thinning. Shiro looked up, surprised to see Lance there.

“Sure. What’s the matter?”

“I’m trying to figure out what to get Pidge for a birthday present,” Lance explained. “But I have no idea what kinds of things she’s into besides robots and math equations.”

“Birthday?” Allura asked curiously. “What’s a birthday?”

Lance gasped, shock etched on his face. “Alteans don’t have birthdays?”

“A birthday is an anniversary of the day a person is born,” Shiro explained. “Every person’s birthday is different, and we usually celebrate it by having a party, giving out presents, and showing the person how much we appreciate them.”

“Oh!” Allura remarked. “We had something like that on Altea, only it happened every 10 deca-phoebes, and it was usually an extravagant party that a lot of people attended, sometimes even if they didn’t know the person. Kind of similar to your Earth festivals, I suppose! Er… to a much smaller scale of course. It would be chaotic if a giant party were held for everyone celebrating their own anniversary.”

“Where I come from, a girl’s _Quinceañera_ is the most special birthday of all!” Lance grinned, but he folded his arms across his chest in a pout. “I still have no idea what to get her.”

“You’ll come up with something,” Shiro assured. “You always manage to pull through.” Lance smiled thankfully.

Allura frowned. “I’m not sure what to give her yet, either. Pidge and I haven’t exactly talked with just the two of us.” Suddenly, there was a squeak, and Allura was drawn to the floor as the mice scampered up her leg and perched themselves on her shoulder. They jittered excitedly into her ear, and suddenly her shimmering blue eyes lit up with delight. “That’s an excellent idea! Come on, friends!”

Allura raced off with the mice before Shiro could remind her that they needed to finish their conversation, and before Lance could piggy-back on her idea. “Aw man. She even got one faster than me, and I’ve known Pidge longer. What does that say about me as a friend?” Lance sighed.

Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder. “Absolutely nothing. In fact, the desperation to find Pidge a proper gift shows how much you care. Whatever you do end up getting her, I’m sure she’ll be happy.”

Lance nodded, grateful that Shiro was able to cheer him up somewhat, but he still felt defeated. He still had no clue about what kind of material items Pidge liked, or what she would even find useful. Pidge seemed more of a person who didn’t need anything else other than her brains and computer (she was very possessive about her computer). Yet, Pidge was such a hoarder that it made him question his judgement.

It was probably just because he had no idea what to get her.

“Okay,” Lance sighed, giving Shiro a smile. “Well, thanks for the help anyways, Shiro. I needed that.”

“No problem Lance,” Shiro said. “You and Pidge have gotten a lot closer. I have full confidence in you that you’ll get her the right gift.”

_Yeah, no pressure there._

-:-:-:-:-

“Keith, do you have any idea of what I should get Pidge?”

Lance had wandered his way into the lounge after doing several laps around the castle trying to stir his brain up for ideas (passing the kitchen several times didn’t exactly help manners), and was surprised to find Keith there with a wrapped gift already on his lap. Glancing over Keith’s shoulder, it looked like the red paladin was attempting to draw a flower on a card, and the caption said…

“’Wow, you’ve grown?’” Lance read aloud with a smirk. Keith jumped, and glanced over his shoulder, face turning red.

“What?” Keith muttered.

“I didn’t know you had jokes, Mullet!” Lance remarked, grinning from ear to ear.

“I mean, Pidge likes puns, right?” Keith shrugged. His shoulders were hunched as he tried to bury himself into his jacket. “I just thought-”

“It’s great!” Lance said. “So, what’d you get her?”

“A blanket,” Keith said, patting the present on his lap. “She’s always complaining about being cold. I thought maybe she might like something of her own to keep her warm instead of having to steal your sweater all the time.”

Lance blinked, surprised that Keith- the hothead, socially awkward, emo member of the group- was actually able to find a thoughtful gift for Pidge. He clapped Keith on the back. “Thanks, man. Appreciate it, but I really don’t mind her using my sweater anyways. We borrow each other’s stuff all the time, and it’s kind of become our thing.”

Keith smirked, a kind of mischievous glint in his eye, like he knew something that Lance didn’t. Lance hated when Keith knew something that he didn’t.

Lance let loose a frustrated yell. “Why can’t I think of anything to get her?!” He exclaimed. “It should be easy!”

“Maybe you’re overthinking it,” Keith stood up with his gift lodged in his armpit and card in hand. “Or maybe you think that by not getting her the right gift, she’ll reject you because you’re afraid she’ll think you don’t appreciate her.”

Lance raised an eyebrow, spinning around to face Keith who was just about to leave the room. “Since when are you good at reading people?!”

“What?” Keith turned, blinking in confusion. He registered what Lance just said and a smirk creeped onto his face. “Oh, I’m not. You’re just an open book.”

The lounge door slid closed, leaving Lance alone on the couch once more. He groaned inwardly, sliding down further into the couch until his back touched the seat cushion, chin flat on his chest. “What am I going to do? What can I give Pidge to show that I appreciate her?”

His face scrunched up as he thought. Maybe Keith was right, and he was overthinking this. After all, it was just a birthday present. Pidge was a pretty cool person most of the time, and would probably accept anything that he gave her. Yet for some reason, Lance didn’t want his gift to be like that. He wanted it to mean something to her. He wanted it to not only mean something to her, but he wanted her to feel a little bit of him in it too.

He thought back, thinking about all the times Pidge smiled, the way her maple eyes lit up in the face of some cool new alien tech.

That was when it hit him, and he suddenly lurched up.

“I’ve got it!” Lance immediately sat up from his chair and raced towards the bridge.

He needed to send a message out to Olkarion.

-:-:-:-:-

Pidge felt herself slowly waking from a peaceful slumber, letting loose a disappointed moan as she rolled over and tried to fall back asleep. Everything was warm and cozy, and she had absolutely no intention of moving. She sighed contentedly and nuzzled her face into her pillow, before relaxing once more.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t relaxing for more.

There was a gentle tug on a strand of her hair, and her nose scrunched in annoyance. She tried to brush it off, but then she felt another warm weight on her right shoulder, rubbing against the inside of her neck. She opened her tired eyes slightly, and came face to face with one of the mice.

She yelped, backing up hastily, until she backed up so far that she fell off the side of her bed and landed with a thump. The mice were sitting on her bed, gazing at her with guilt.

“You’d better feel sorry,” Pidge grumbled, before sighing and getting to her feet. “Guess even birthday girls don’t get to sleep in.”

The mice interjected with frantic squeaking and scampered over to the clock, which read eleven-hundred hours in Earth time. Her eyes widened. “Huh. Guess I did sleep in and didn’t even realize. Thanks, guys.”

The mice squeaked once more with delight, and climbed up into the air vents and disappeared within. Pidge shrugged, and headed to the showers, intending on taking her time getting ready. The shower helped to wake her up, and the heat was soothing against her back. By the time she was done, she felt more rested and rejuvenated than she ever had since before the Kerberos mission.

As soon as she had finished brushing down her damp hair and sliding on some clothes, her stomach rumbled. She cringed at its empty feeling, and decided to head to the kitchen, slipping Matt’s glasses onto her face on her way out.

She suddenly felt her joy ebb away at the thought of her missing brother. She wished he could be there.

She stepped in the kitchen to an amazing smell, as usual. Hunk seemed to be making some form of pancakes, and it smelled like… peanut butter? “Morning, Hunk,” Pidge greeted. Hunk made a sound of surprise before he turned and tossed her a smile.

“Hey, Pidge!” He beamed. “Happy Birthday!”

Pidge nodded her thanks and sat down, eager to dig into the stack of peanut butter pancakes she so desperately needed. Hunk gently laid down three freshly baked ones on a plate in front of her, and stars danced in her eyes. “Uh, sorry, we don’t have any syrup yet. I’m hoping we can stop at that space market soon and get some berries that might work as a substitute, but for now I hope these will be enough.”

“Hunk, you managed to make peanut butter out of something that wasn’t peanuts in _space,_ ” Pidge pointed out, stabbing the top pancake with a spork. “I am eternally grateful.”

Hunk laughed. “I appreciate your appreciation.”

Pidge grunted through a mouthful of pancake.

“Message received, loud and clear.” Hunk said, letting her continue to eat the pancakes.

“Hey, there’s our little Gremlin,” A voice piped up, and Pidge whipped her head around to find Shiro, Allura and Coran walking into the room, Keith also by Shiro’s side. The only one that seemed to be missing was Lance.

It was Shiro whom had spoken, and he stood next to Pidge and ruffled her hair. “Happy Birthday, Katie.”

“Thanks, Shiro,” Pidge beamed. “So, what’s the plan for today guys?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Allura said with a frown. “I was planning on hiding the ship for the day so we could celebrate without any interruptions by the Galra, but Lance personally requested that we land on Olkarion. Something about already contacting them ahead of time?”

“Wait, are we on Olkarion?” Pidge lit up. “I have to go see Ryner!”

Shiro chuckled in response to her excitement. “You two can geek out about science later. Right now, we have a birthday to celebrate.”

“Uh, yeah! A girl’s _Quinceañera_ needs to be special after all!” Lance suddenly declared, marching into the room with a grin on his face.

“What’s this Allura said about wanting to land on Olkarion, Lance?” Shiro asked curiously, when Lance suddenly turned and gave him a not-so-subtle wink.

“Well, we needed a safe spot to land, and since Olkarion is the central point of the Voltron Coalition, I thought it should be the safest right?” Lance pointed out. “Don’t want any Galra assholes interrupting Pidgey’s birthday. That would be just _rude._ ”

“The rudest.” Hunk agreed helpfully.

Pidge laughed, a genuine, heartfelt laugh that made the whole room pause and listen. “I… really appreciate you guys doing this for me. I’ve never really had a group of friends to celebrate my birthday with before. It’s always been just my family and I.”

“Well, you’re stuck with us now, Pidge,” Lance said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“I’m okay with that.”

“Aw, guys,” Hunk’s lower lip began to quiver, eyes twinkling with happiness. “Can we group hug now? I seriously need one.”

“Sure, big guy,” Lance permitted, but Hunk was already scooping up both Pidge and Lance in a tight squeeze. Shiro, Coran and Allura gladly joined in, but Keith hovered outside the group. Pidge glared at him through bundles of cloth.

“Keith, get your ass in this group hug right now.”

Sighing, Keith surrendered and allowed him to be pushed up against Shiro’s side. All of them stayed like that until the red paladin finally had to cut it off. “Oh, time to open presents!” Hunk suddenly yelled.

Pidge’s eyes widened, not expecting them to get her gifts. “You guys got me something?”

“Even Mullet did!”

“Stop making me sound like a horrible human being!”

Keith’s sudden snap made everyone burst into laughter, and even Lance was rolling on the floor, despite the red paladin looming over him with his hands clenched into fists. Eventually, though, he calmed down, and Pidge was able to catch the smallest of smiles that appeared on his face.

Everyone gathered in the lounge, with Pidge sitting in the middle of the couch and the others all around the sides. Their gifts were sitting on the table, and Pidge didn’t even know where to start. She reached for a flat and square one wrapped in pink and green, tied with a very intricate gold bow that Pidge guessed could only come from Allura.

She opened the present, and inside found something too Earth-like to be true. It resembled a picture frame, with a very pretty silver rim decorated with flowers and leaves, and crystal-clear glass as the center. Pidge was afraid to put it down again in fear of accidentally shattering it.

“It’s a picture frame,” Allura explained. “For that photo you always carry around.”

Pidge gasped softly, and pulled out the fragile photo of her and her brother from the pockets in her shorts. It was definitely worse for wear, tearing and fading at the edges. She went to find a slot, but suddenly the glass vanished, and Pidge’s mouth fell open in awe. She placed the photo in carefully, and it was a perfect fit. She watched as the glass reappeared, completely sealing the photo in and protecting it.

“It’s quite unbreakable, so if you drop the frame, it still should remain intact. If you want the photo out again, you just wave your hand in front of the glass twice and it should disappear-”

In the middle of Allura’s instructions, Pidge tackled her in a hug, trying to hold back the tears that were starting to form in her eyes.

“Thank you,” She whispered.

Allura wilted into the small paladin’s grasp. “I know what it’s like to lose the only thing left of family that you have,” She whispered. “I don’t want you to feel the same way.”

Pidge remembered back to when Allura had to destroy King Alfor’s AI in order to save them all, but in doing so, she got rid of the only connection that she had to him left. If Pidge lost the photo of her and Matt, she didn’t know what she would do. She would be heartbroken.

“Wow, that frame is beautiful!” Lance exclaimed, as Pidge laid it down next to her.

“And so high tech too!” Pidge said. “Allura, I need to know how that vanishing glass works later.” She eagerly reached in to grab another present, and pulled out Keith’s, much to his dismay. She tore apart the paper until her hands reached in and touched something soft.

“Is this… a blanket?” She grinned, pulling it out. It was incredibly soft, green, and enveloped her entire body. Hunk reached down to rub the fabric between his fingers and his eyes bulged out of his skull.

“Whoa, yeah, that is soft. That’s got to be made from a cloud.”

“Clouds are made of water, Hunk, and you know that.”

“Pidge, you’re missing the point.”

“Yeah,” Keith answered. “I figured, since you’re always complaining about being cold all the time, why not go the practical route and get her something she can make use of?” He winced. “N-not that Allura’s gift isn’t useful, I just thought-”

“No, no, Keith it’s perfect!” Pidge assured, getting up and squeezing him around the waist. Keith relaxed and placed his hands awkwardly on his pseudo-sister’s shoulders, as if he didn’t know what else he should do with them. “Thank you.”

Keith breathed a sigh of relief after Pidge sat down, and Shiro patted his back with pride.

“Me next, me next!” Hunk demanded, shoving his gift towards her. His was oddly shaped, hard on the bottom but it had room for air on the top. She ripped it open, and found a plate of purple, peanut butter smelling cookies. It was like unearthing a gold mine.

“Oh, my god, Hunk, you’re a miracle worker.” Pidge leapt up and wrapped her arms around his thick neck. Hunk laughed joyfully, and gladly returned it, happy that he got another hug and he was able to make Pidge happy.

“You managed to make peanut butter cookies in outer space?” Shiro asked in awe.

“Technically not peanut butter.” Hunk reminded him.

“Who cares?!” Pidge cried triumphantly, stuffing one in her mouth. “God, I missed these. Thanks, Hunk!”

“You’re welcome!”

After Coran’s gift was given, a white and green Olkari cube that was customized personally for her and floated around Pidge like Rover once did, Lance glared pointedly at Shiro to go next, which led Shiro to believe that the blue paladin wanted to present his gift to her last. So, Shiro stepped forward, reached into the pocket of his jeans and gripped something small in his palm.

He turned it over, and pressed it into her tiny hand. Pidge lifted it up, and gasped in shock when she recognized it.

It was her father’s pin. His commander’s pin from the Garrison.

She remembered the day that her father had shown it to her. He was so full of excitement and pride, telling her that the badge meant that he could fulfill the dream that he’d had since he was a kid. His passion for space was what inspired her and Matt to follow in his footsteps. He wore it pinned on his Garrison uniform all the time.

“Your father gave me that just before we were separated in the prison,” Shiro explained, a grim expression on his face. “He told me that it was a symbol of hope, hope that we would see each other and our families again. I think… I think it’s only right that you have it.”

“Shiro… Shiro, no, I-I can’t take this,” Pidge shook her head, pressing the pin to her chest as though it might disappear. “If dad gave it to you…”

“You need it more than I do. Maybe it can lead you back to him and your brother. Maybe it can give you hope too.”

Pidge gave him a watery smile and embraced him in a hug. “Thank you.”

She pinned her father’s pin on the inside of her shirt, where it would stay until she found a safer place to put it, and looked curiously to Lance. Lance reached into his pocket, and he pulled out a small box. Suspicious, Pidge took it nimbly, and the whole room seemed to hold its breath with curiosity.

Lance kept looking at her expectantly, his body tense with nervous energy, so Pidge gently opened the box, and was caught by surprise.

Inside was a beautiful silver necklace, made up of a lightweight that tickled her skin to the touch, and a shimmering silver leaf for a pendant. The leaf had so many swirling intricate designs, and if Pidge looked closely, she could see tinges of green when reflected in the light. That wasn’t all though. In the center, where the middle line of the leaf danced into a sphere, there was a light blue gem- one Pidge was very familiar with.

“Is that…?”

“An Olkari gem,” Lance confirmed, reaching to scratch the back of his head. “You were the only one out of all of us able to use it, so I thought, why not have one on you all the time? It could come in handy.”

_Pretty and practical._ Pidge thought, smiling.

“I dunno, Lance,” Hunk said. “The idea of Pidge being armed all the time sounds pretty scary.”

The rest of the Paladins and the Alteans laughed as Pidge shot Hunk a warning glare and smacked him on the shoulder.

“It’s beautiful,” Allura said, examining the necklace fondly. Allura always was a stickler for shiny things. Her eyes beamed. “Try it on!”

“Oh, here, let me help,” Lance said. He took the necklace from her sweaty hands and gently laid it around her neck, and Pidge heard a soft click as it was latched into place. The necklace followed her collar bone, the pendant resting just on her chest. The Olkari gem felt warm on her chilled skin.

“Wow.” Hunk marveled, eyes twinkling. Pidge’s face grew hot under all the attention.

“It doesn’t look bad?” She asked nervously, unsure how to interpret all the silence.

“You look beautiful, Pidge,” Shiro assured, giving her a smile. Pidge smiled back.

Then, out of nowhere:

“You’re the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen,” Lance murmured before he could stop himself, and the room burst into laughter. Embarrassment overcame him as he realized what he just said, and he shrunk back, his ears burning red.

Pidge wasn’t offended though, in fact, she was laughing along with the rest of them, her cheeks fading to a light pink. Lance found himself staring at Pidge, connecting dots with each freckle on her face, hypnotized by the light reflecting off her big, round glasses. He found himself wanting to stroke his hands through her soft hair, and wanted to hold onto her and never let go.

“I… I’ve never had anybody besides my family do this for me before,” Pidge admitted, startling Lance from his daze. She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Thanks. I love you guys.”

“Awe, love you too, Pidgey,” Hunk said, wrapping his arms around her and squishing her against his chest. Lance laughed and joined in.

“We are your family Pidge,” Lance reminded her. “and whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with us.”

Pidge didn’t object, and to Lance, that was enough.


End file.
